Is Education as Easy as 1,2,3?

The Millennium Development Goals is one of the main measurements I used to study development before arriving in Kenya. Along with my other Beyond Borders classmates, we used the Millennium Development Goals knowing they were not achievable by the target dates in 2015. Yet I still put the Millennium Development Goals on a high totem pole. When arriving in Kenya, it drastically caused me to change the way I think about universal primary education.

I've been warned by multiple people including the program director and a few close professors that I would see heart shattering images and stories here but that these stories would make me a stronger more competent individual. I hope that today's lesson provides that. Education as a Millennium Development Goal aims to offer primary education to all kids in the developing world so that as students they can get the strongest start possible and learn basic primary skills. Students in Kenya learn a variety of subjects at the primary level including English, Swahili, Science, Math, Christian Religious Education, Social Studies and Physical Education.

The problem with education in Kenya is not only accessibility and sustainability but it has to do with quality. The Millennium Development Goal is focused on quantity of teaching. Making sure as many kids as possible get pushed through the system and are given a chance at free education and greater involvement of young girls in education seem to be given a high priority. I don't want to degrade how important these aims are but with a lack of focus on quality education; education can harm the pupils or students.

Who are teaching these children? In a place like Kariobangi there are absolutely no requirements to be a teacher (Remember I was offered a job the first day I was in Kenya without even asking what my qualifications were; they just looked at me as a white educated person). Some of the teachers don't have secondary education (Grade 12 in Ontario for those keeping track). There is also no formal training for teachers on how to teach. If teachers don't understand the content and have little ability to teach, students are put at a severe disadvantage.

What do teachers do in and out of the classroom? The truth cuts deep into me especially since I want to enter into what I classify as a wonderful and challenging profession. When students write compositions for their teachers (1-2 page writing assignments), the teacher assumes that all of the compositions are poorly written and will only read the first and last paragraph and mark very little. The teacher does not provide comments and gives low scores. These scores can range between 2-9 out of a possible 40 marks.

I don't want to disqualify anything I just said. Obviously not all teachers are like this here but the attitudes of teachers need a monumental shift to transform the power of education. I have been asked multiple times: How many slum schools do you teach at? Why don't you teach in the city where students are actually worth it? You beat children? These attitudes are difficult for me to comprehend. The reality is caning does happen, these are slum schools, children in government schools are at the bottom of the totem pole but these facts alone should not disqualify them all together. These kids need more hope than any other student in Kenya and this is what I am trying to provide them.

I have 54 students in my Class 5 English class. I marked all of their compositions in one night. I read each and every word and I corrected all of their mistakes to try to help them improve for the entire term. I made a friend, Tim who said a white person came to the school and really helped him improve his language skills. I hope that I can do the same and give these students some real quality education. Its important that all students get a universal education from K-12 but quantity is just as important and there are very few markers available to assess this.

At Education for Life, teacher training happens in August. I want to be actively involved in this so that hopefully I can reach many teachers and pay it forward. The answer should not be giving educated westerners teaching jobs through an external body in the developing world. I understand this but at the same time find it difficult to think of other answers when qualifications of teachers are so low in the developing world. The Class 5 English average on their first composition was 10/20. I graded on grammar, spelling, structure and content. My goal is to bring marks to 14's, 15's, and 16's. I also want to hopefully open a dialogue between teachers in the Kariobangi slum and try to start a 'support group' situation through my organization; Education for Life.

It is what it is. This doesn't mean that we don't fight like hell to change the culture.